Daily Reflection
December 3, 2025

The missionary zeal of Jesus continues in today’s Gospel as he steps across familiar territory toward Tyre and Sidon with confidence and purpose. Jesus brings God’s compassion whenever there is human need found. In those foreign towns, he reaches out, heals, listens, and receives the hospitality of strangers. What he shows us is that the love of God is never confined to a specific territory. Grace does not stop at borders. Mercy does not require permission to enter. Wherever people long for wholeness, Jesus is willing to go.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Francis Xavier, a missionary himself and a founding member of the Society of Jesus. He left Europe shortly after the order was founded. His travels took him to the Far East, where he dedicated himself to ministry in India, Malaysia, and Japan. By the time of his death, he was already envisioning broader opportunities to spread the Gospel throughout the Orient.

Perhaps we can rethink our understanding of mission. Most of us will never be asked to journey to distant continents like St. Xavier or to preach in foreign lands. Our vocation will likely unfold in the ordinary spaces where we already stand: our homes, workplaces, schools, and neighbourhoods. Yet these everyday places have their own “Tyre and Sidon moments” when we encounter people whose experiences differ from ours, or individuals who carry wounds we cannot see, or situations that invite courage, patience, and prayer. To be missionary in spirit is to imitate Christ’s willingness to go beyond the familiar, to reach out and serve a particular need. It is believed that God’s love can flow through our words, actions, and even our silence. 

The question we can ask ourselves today is: how can we become living signs of God’s love to others?